CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Penn State Lehigh Valley will highlight academic research regarding the influences affecting first-generation college students at an event on campus. Tiffany Cresswell-Yeager, director of student and enrollment services at Penn State Lehigh Valley, will present at 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 13 in Room 302. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be provided.
Cresswell-Yeager’s presentation, "Influences That Affect First-Generation College Students’ College Choice: A Qualitative Inquiry of Student Perceptions," looks at first-generation college students’ perceptions about the influences affecting their college choice process. Her study is guided by status attainment and social mobility models that show students want to earn a college degree to gain access to greater status and move up status groups. Among other things, her findings suggest students aspired to have a better life yet faced many barriers that influence their college choice. Participants utilized resources and relied on people including parents, counselors, teachers and friends to attempt to overcome these barriers.
This is sponsored by the Research and Scholarship Committee of the Faculty Senate with the intention to promote recently awarded doctorates among the campus faculty and staff.